Fitting a cover doesn’t need a screwdriver or taking anything apart. Allow about two minutes for a straight sofa, a little longer for a corner sofa — one cover per section. And one principle to remember before anything else: what keeps a cover neat is the fabric tucked into the gaps, not tension.
Before you start
Clear the seats, remove the scatter cushions and give the sofa a quick vacuum: a crumb trapped under the cover will be felt under your hand for weeks.
Then find the right side and the wrong side, and which way round it goes: the arm sections are cut wider, and the centre seam marks the middle of the back. Two minutes of checking saves starting all over again.
A straight sofa, in four steps
- Arms first. Pull one side on, then the other, easing the cover down to the bottom of each arm.
- Then the back. Pull the cover over the back, lining the centre seam up with the middle of the sofa.
- The seat. Spread the fabric out and push the extra into the gap between the seat and the back, along its whole length. This is the step that does the work.
- The folds. Go over the cover from left to right, push any air pockets towards the gaps, and tuck whatever sticks out under the frame.
On stretch covers, don’t try to get everything taut to the millimetre the first time: after a few minutes of use, smooth out the folds again.
Foam tuck-in sticks and straps
If your cover comes with foam tuck-in sticks or straps, they aren’t optional extras: use them every time. The foam sticks slide into the gap between the seat and the back, one per seat, trapping the extra fabric with them. The straps cross under the seat.
The rule of thumb is simple: if the cover rides up when you stand up, there isn’t enough fabric tucked in at that point, or a foam stick is missing.
A corner sofa
Fit one section at a time, starting with the longest. Dress it completely — arms, back, seat, tucking in — before moving on to the chaise end.
Once both sections are covered, deal with the join: tuck plenty of fabric from both covers into the corner gap, then push the folds towards the inside of the sofa. From the front, the join doesn’t show. How many covers you need for each shape is explained in our guide corner sofa covers: how many do you need.
An armchair
Same principle, only quicker: 2 minutes at most. Each shape has its own cover, in one size: the classic armchair, the tub chair or club chair, the wingback chair. Pull the cover on from the top of the back (on a wingback chair, fit it over the wings first), draw the fabric over the seat and both arms, then knot the ties under the chair. Finally, slide the foam tuck-in sticks provided into the gaps between the seat, the back and the arms: they wedge in the extra fabric. There’s no need to remove the seat cushion: the cover goes over it.
A dining chair
Pull the cover on from the top of the back, ease it down to the seat, then fasten the elastic under the seat: thirty seconds per chair. Dining chair covers come in one size, for a chair without arms: back 45 to 60 cm high and 40 to 50 cm wide, seat 40 to 50 cm. If you’re dressing a whole dining room, allow one cover per chair and fit them all before judging the result: the set looks better than a single chair.
A click-clack sofa bed
Fit the cover with the sofa bed closed. Pull the cover on from the back towards the seat, tuck the extra into the centre fold, then check that the mechanism opens without forcing. If it sticks, there’s too much fabric tucked into the fold — it doesn’t mean the size is wrong.
→ Our click-clack and fold-out sofa bed covers
Seat cushions on their own
If your sofa’s frame is still in good condition and only the cushions are tired, cover them separately with a sofa cushion cover: it goes on like a fitted sheet, with elastic at all four corners. Take the cushion out, hook two opposite corners, stretch the cover over the other two, smooth it and put the cushion back: about a minute per cushion. Allow one cover per cushion, seat or back, and choose the size from the cushion’s actual measurements.
EasyCover™ covers, which aren’t pulled on
They work differently: they’re pieces laid on the sofa, not a cover you pull on. Spread each piece where it belongs — one per seat, one per back, one per arm — non-slip underside against the furniture, and smooth from the centre outwards.
Two things to check: make sure the underside is completely flat, with no fold tucked under it, otherwise the grip can’t do its job; and overlap neighbouring pieces slightly so no part of the sofa shows between them.
After fitting
Sit down and stand up two or three times, then smooth out any areas that have moved. A cover settles after a day of use: it’s normal to have a small adjustment to make the next day, and it doesn’t mean the size is wrong.
An illustrated guide comes with every order. For what comes next — washing, drying, putting it back on — our guide how to care for and wash your sofa cover covers the full routine. And if fitting is proving tricky, email a photo to contact@thesofacoverhouse.com for advice on your sofa: we reply 7 days a week.
